ONE MORE TRY FOR KAI
Kai Sotto will be treading a different path to the NBA—one he should have taken years ago—as he goes to college in the United States at 23 years old and, in all likelihood, put immediate future stints with Gilas Pilipinas on hold.
And this plan sits entirely perfectly well with Ricky Vargas, the new Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president, even as the Gilas Pilipinas Nationals showed how vulnerable they are just two nights before, when they were manhandled—without Sotto—by an Australian B-Team in the Fiba World Cup Qualifying window at Mall of Asia Arena.
“His dream [of being the first full-blooded Filipino to make the NBA] is our dream, too,” Vargas told a group of sports editors at a casual dinner on Monday. “He has our full support.”
Sotto didn’t play in the last window for Gilas, which took a 69-66 loss at the hands of New Zealand on Thursday last week, before a 93-66 beatdown taken at the hands of the Aussies last Sunday.
Though Vargas made it clear that it would have been different stories had Sotto been there, there was not a tinge of bitterness in his voice when he said that the SBP would be willing to bend backwards just to see the 7-foot-3 beanpole realize his NBA dream.
Even if that route should have been taken several years ago.
“What we know is that he is looking for a college [to enroll in],” Vargas said. “And I want to make it clear, money was not an issue [why he didn’t play against NZ and Australia]. He really wanted to play.”
Boatwright naturalization
Also present during that dinner was Erica Dy, the SBP executive director, as she and Vargas updated scribes on the latest developments in their federation, which included the hearing for naturalization for Bennie Boatwright.
The Senate committee on justice and human rights, chaired by Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, heard Boatwright’s case Tuesday afternoon, which puts the former San Miguel import’s in perfect timing for the Asian Games in Japan later this year, and if needed, for the next Fiba windows.
Boatwright’s naturalization, which started in 2024, already gained Congressional nod last December.
And this excites the SBP leadership no end, as the Philippines will have a real solid team to defend the Asian Games crown in the land of the Rising Sun, as players with passports—without limit to the number—of the country they wish to represent will be allowed to play.
“That was the same rule in China [in the last Asiad],” Dy said. “And we don’t expect that to change.”
Should that rule stay, Gilas could be bannered by a team that can have both Justin Brownlee and Boatwright to play with the best talents from the PBA and the Japan and South Korean leagues.
“It’s certainly an attractive roster,” Vargas said. “But coach Tim (Cone) makes the decisions on the team compositions.”
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